Apple almost always launches new iPhone models in September, but in 2020, due to a pandemic, the launch only happened in October. For the iPhone 13, things seem to be back on schedule, based on how far the chipset is seemingly in production.
According to supply chain sources who spoke with DigiTimes, TSMC (chipset maker) will begin shipping the A15 Bionic chipset to Apple in late May. It’s seemingly premature, from a website that previously reported that the chipset won’t even go into production until the end of May.
But even that would be far ahead of where the A14 Bionic was at the same time last year, as it only went into production in late June. So while the chipset is just one aspect of the iPhone 13, this rapid progress is also hinted at by the phone as a whole which is in line with the schedule.
We heard earlier from other sources that the iPhone 13 range is also on its way to launch in September, so although there is enough time to change that, at the moment it seems that things in that area have returned to normal.
There is no shortage of supply
As for chipsets, another significant detail in this latest report is that TSMC is clearly expected to “record significant increases in output from its advanced processes,” suggesting that the iPhone 13’s range may not be affected by the global chipset shortage affecting Android phones .
In less positive news, however, it has previously been said that the A15 Bionic chipset will be made on a 5nm (nanometer) process, just like the A14 Bionic, meaning improvements are likely to be limited.
In particular, a 5% performance improvement and a 10% power reduction were mentioned. Still, the A14 Bionic is still one of the most powerful chipsets in the area, so small improvements may be all Apple needs.
Of course, for now we would take all this with a little salt. Nothing will be known for sure until Apple announces the iPhone 13 – probably in September.
Via Phone Arena